


Rule Twelve (or, People Who Definitely Should Not Be Aware That You're Sleeping With Your Forensic Scientist), By Leroy Jethro Gibbs

by Leyenn



Category: NCIS
Genre: 5 Things, 5 Times, F/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2017-02-09
Packaged: 2018-09-23 04:56:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9641600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leyenn/pseuds/Leyenn
Summary: How pretty much everybody finds out, sooner or later.





	

1.

"I'll keep you safe, Abbs," he whispers into her hair. Kisses her head, hugs her close against him. If he could pull her inside himself right now, just to keep her safe, he would. "I promise."

If Ari knows or if he doesn't, it almost doesn't matter. _Almost_.

But Ari knows about Shannon, and Kelly. The chances he doesn't know about Abby are vanishingly small.

Until now, he's just had the luxury - _made the mistake_ \- of thinking Ari wouldn't dare creep this far into the lion's den. He's lucky not to have lost her today. He's not going to make that mistake a second time.

  


2.

The elevator hum stops a moment before Ziva's finger leaves the emergency switch.

He looks at her in surprise, raising an eyebrow. She looks back at him - and then looks away for just a second, one he'd almost miss if they weren't alone in the dark and nothing else to distract him.

He turns, facing her straight on. She clears her throat. 

"Gibbs." 

"Ziva." She actually looks slightly yet sincerely uncomfortable. He's not sure he's seen that look on her before.

But she killed her own brother to save his life, so he's willing to give her the benefit of time if she needs it. Even so, by the time he's counted to thirty in his head, there _are_ other people in the building who need to use the elevator some time today.

"Don't make me head slap it out of you," he says in the end, with a hint of impatience.

Ziva makes an unreadable face, but her shoulders straighten and she looks right at him. 

"I know." She pauses, but only for half a breath. "About you and Abby."

He keeps his expression casual. Give nothing away for free. "Me and Abby."

"Yes." He'll give her credit, there's no uncertainty in her now that she's made her play. He wonders how she is at chess. "You _are_ lovers, yes?"

He opens his mouth to reply, but Ziva surprises him again with a sudden smile. "Don't worry, Gibbs. Secrets are safe between us." As if it's proof, she turns her back to him, reaches over to the switch. "I simply felt you should know."

He very nearly doesn't ask it, but in the end he has to know. "Did-"

"No." Instant. Ziva lets her hand drop with the lights still dark. "Mossad has no idea. I just… recognised the signs."

"Ah." He turns back to face the doors. "All right. Good."

In the corner of his eye, Ziva smiles and flips the switch again.

  


3.

He's half a step from entering her lab when he hears it - incredulous and a good octave above normal.

"How can you be sleeping with _Gibbs?!_ "

Now this is likely to be interesting, possibly even more interesting than the case they're working, at least for a minute or two. He flattens his back against the wall and sticks his head around the corner, just as Abby starts to say, pragmatic as all hell, "Well, see, usually we -"

"Aaaaaahhh!" He's never seen anyone slap hands over their ears quite so hard as McGee does then. "I do not even want to think about it."

"But you asked!" Abby puts her hand on Tim's shoulder and shakes him lightly. "He's had four wives, McGee, you can't have been thinking he's celibate."

"But he's _Gibbs_ , and you're..."

Abby crosses her arms: even from here he can see the danger in her eyes. "McGee, if the next thing out of your mouth is either 'half his age' or 'not a redhead', they will never find your body."

He can't see it but he'd bet that gets her a wince. It definitely gets her a more sheepish tone of voice. "Is 'my ex-girlfriend' okay?"

Abby softens instantly, laughs and throws her arms around McGee's neck. "Oh, Timmy! That's so sweet." She leans back to look at him. "Are you going to threaten to break his legs if he doesn't treat me right?"

McGee huffs. "Don't be stupid. Gibbs'd break his own legs if he did that." After a pause, more muttered; "And probably mine if I tried, anyway."

"McGee."

"Sorry. It's just... I just found out my boss is dating my ex. It's weird."

Abby nibbles her lip, but her eyes are sparkling with laughter he can feel from here. "Um. I hate to break it to you, McGee, but we're sort of past dating."

"Jeez, how long? Does Tony know?" McGee's voice jumps up another step. "Does Ziva even know?!"

"Ziva figured it out after three weeks." He sets the Caf-Pow on the desk in front of her and leans in to kiss her cheek. "Whatcha got for me, Abbs?"

She smiles that happy smile that says her little machine army has come up trumps, again. " _I_ have got fingerprints." She shoots a sly glance sideways, then leans into him just a little and lowers her voice, stage-whispering. "McGee has some adjustment issues."

He smirks into her hair. "I heard." He points toward the plasma. "Let's see what we've got."

Her fingers fly to the keyboard. "Yes, oh great one."

McGee hides it well, but that sound behind him is definitely a groan.

  


4.

Something wakes him up just enough to realise he's not touching her. He rolls over onto his back, reaching across the bed: Abby mumbles something and rolls over, too, strokes her hand up his chest as she snuggles back against him. Her lips press onto his skin just enough to be a sleepy kiss. He smiles and kisses her back on the top of her head, messy black hair tickling his nose.

Her lips on his skin are a smile this time. "Mmmm."

He slides his hand around her waist, under her shirt, pulling her tighter against him. "Didn't mean t' wake ya." She hardly sleeps as it is, even when she's in his bed.

"Mm." She shifts a little more, wraps a naked leg around his. "S'okay. S'nice." And it is - waking up with her, sleepy and relaxed and warm in his bed, wearing one of his old NIS t-shirts and a smile. Especially nice when it's still pitch black outside and he knows they can both just go right back to sleep for another few hours -

He hears the thud and feels Abby jump at almost the exact same time. She lifts her head, eyes wide awake as she looks at him.

He puts a quick finger on her lips: she nods, slowly, and carefully moves to let him up without making a sound.

His gun is in the drawer beside the bed. He slips it out silently - that drawer in particular is always well oiled - and checks the magazine before he slips out of the room and pulls the door just as silently shut behind him.

It doesn't matter that there are no lights on, since he knows his way perfectly in the dark. At the top of the stairs he stops, waits.

No sound.

Makes his way down the stairs, back to the wall.

Still no sound.

The front door is still closed, no sign of a break-in, which is either good or very, very bad. He rounds the kitchen door, slowly, weapon raised -

"God _damn it_ , Tobias!"

Fornell looks up from helping himself to a midnight snack and a pot of coffee. "Took you long enough, Jethro. Losing your hearing?"

"I was _asleep_ ," he says, clicks the safety back on.

"So I heard." Fornell smirks, his voice that mild tone that says he's vastly amused, and probably heard a lot more than sleeping. "You know, the FBI frowns on fraternisation at work. Conflict of interest, that sort of thing."

"Good thing we're not FBI, then," he says, just as mildly, and grabs another pair of mugs. Hopefully there's enough coffee in that pot for three. "So, what do you want this time, Tobias?"

  


5.

She throws her arms around him the same way she's done a hundred times, but this time he's on the wrong foot, or just standing on a stray atom, so that she pulls him off balance: he stumbles and she stumbles and he feels her arms lock to hold herself up, her fingers pressing against the back of his neck, and then her back is up against the tall side of her desk and her eyes are wide and surprised and she's smiling up at him.

He's not going to do it, he thinks. They're so good, with the exception of those times they _absolutely_ can't help it, and even then they're careful. He's not going to kiss her right here in her lab where anyone could walk in. He's not.

"Gibbs?" she says. Her voice is barely above audible, and throaty as hell. He feels the grin sneak up on him almost before he can rein it in.

"Abby?"

"Gibbs..."

The grin breaks out, then, mischievous the way he only is with her - he can't stop it. His hands are on her hips, one short-skirted thigh pressed between both of his and he can feel her fingers warm and still across the back of his neck, every one of the chunky plastic rings she's wearing with their tiny rubber spikes digging into his skin. "Abby."

The tiny smile in her eyes is daring him. "Gibbs..."

He opens his mouth - and when did it get so close to hers, when he's _not_ going to kiss her right here in her lab? - to continue this game, this tease he just knows is going to end badly -

"Ah, boss?"

Gibbs doesn't often have cause to slap himself upside the head, but this is definitely one of those times.

On the other hand, the day he shows awkwardness in front of DiNozzo is the day he packs up and moves to Mexico for good this time, so instead he lets it happen: brushes a soft kiss across Abby's lips and tastes her mouth and just indulges himself - both of them, he's pretty sure - for the very briefest of moments.

He should still slap himself, but the look on Tony's face makes it pretty worth it.

**


End file.
